Portable elevator.



S. R ALVEY. I roman ELEVATOR. APPLICATION FILED IAN.

Patented Aug. 14, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I '5. R. HLVEIY S. R. ALVEY.

PORTABLE ELEVATOR- APPLICATION FILED JAN. 13. 1917.

Patented Aug. 14,1917.

2 SHEETS SHEET 2.

' 18 1% 1 y J r v49 "VA L My L ill ,--1O r a S. RHLVEY To all whom it may concern UNITED STATES PATENT orrroa.

SYBIOUB B. ALVEY, OE LORE'I'TO, KENTUCKY,

PORTABLE ELEVATOR.

Specification of Letters Yatent.

Patented Aug. 14,1917.

Application fled January 1a, 1917. Serial No. 142,319.

Be it known that Srmpus R. Anvnr, a citizen of theUnited States, residing at Loretto, in the county of Marion and State of.

Kentucky, has invented certain new and use- 4-4 of Fig. 1;

ful Improvements in Portable Elevators, of

which the following is 'a specification, refi erence being bad to the accompanymg draw-.

articularly to portable elevators designed or lifting and lowering barrels, crates,

' and other like containers.

larly design The general object of my invention is the provision of a veryv effective, simple and easily operated elevator of this type particued for raising or lowering barrels containing liquor and whichis so con;-

structed that it may be readily "operated by one man and the elevator platform held in d any desired position. A further objectoof the invention is to i provide an extremely compact device of this A character so constructed that whenthe eleheight without muscular-e ortfon the part -of the o erator, the means for so supporting I the'plat orm, however, being readily thrown vator platformisraisedto itsfull hei ht it .will automatically be. en ported at t is out of operation by suitable manually operable devices. 2 a

A further objectofthe invention is to ,wheels of the elevator may be readily place in" operative position to support the elevator provide a construction of this character wherein the elevator has free movement to 'its f ull extent and wherein the sidesof the elevator are not obstructed,. thus permitting barrels or casks to be readily rolled upon or rolled-off of theelevator platform.

A further object of the invention is the provision of means wherebythe supporting frame uponthe wheels and permit its ready transportation, or whereby saidwheels may be thrown out of operativeposition so that f the elevator'frame will rest solidly upon I the floor of the warehouse.

Other objectswill appear myths of the following description.

My invention is illustrated in the accom panying drawings, wherein Flgure'l is an proved elevator;

Fig. 2 is a vert'cal sectionalview, the

tion. extending longitudinally of the elevator frame;

111%8. r platform of the elevator.

his invention relates to elevators and end elevation of my im- Fig. 3.is a plan view of the elevator plat- .form, the frame being shown in section, the

platform being broken awa to -show the means for releasing the plat orm latches;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary section'on the line Fig. dis a plan view of the skid whereby the barrels may be rolled upon the-auxiliary .Referring to these figures, it willbe seen. that 'my improved elevator consists of a frame with an elevator platform and means for raising or lowering the platform. The

frame comprises the four vertically disposed corner standards 10. These corner standardsare connected-at their lower ends by longitudinally extending members -11 and also by transversely extending braces. 12.

Theupper ends of the end corner pieces 10 are connected by transversely extendin brace rods 13. These brace rods 13 extend through the upper ends of the medially disposed upri' hts or standards 14,;the lower ends of w ich are operatively supported upon the braces 12, as, illustrated "most clearly in Fig. 1.1 Transverse braces or su porting beams 15 are disposed across tile 5 ends of the frame, as illustrated in Fig. .1.

'Botatably. supported in the lower ends of the vertical stan ards 14 and upon the upper edges of the transverse beams-.12is afshaft 16 carrying at its ends the sprocket wheels 17 and inward of the members 14 the wins "ing drums 18 Tires rocket wheels 17 are operatively connecte by :means of the sprocket chains 19 withsprocket wheels 55%? '{mountedupon stub shafts 21 and 22, which shafts are operatively supported upon the frame, each of said stub shafts being provided with. a crank handle 23.- Mounted uplon the stub shaft 21 is a frietionwheel 24;

w ose-purpose will be later stated. Idler standards-14, as illustrated best in Fig. 1,

sprocket .wheels' .25 are mounted upon the r i w and these enga e the sprocket chains l9- and take up the also in these chains so that there will be no lost motion.

,7 Guided by the ,vertical'frame beams l0 and cut away to. recelve the beams 14 is a platform26. Mounted upon the-upper ends of the standards 14 are thepulleys 27 which are preferably in the form ofblocks provided with aplurality of pulleys. Mounted upon the platform 26 at opposite ends there- 0 are the pulley block's128, and attached-to eachof the pulley blocks 27 and extending no I sponding drum 18. It

of the blocks 28 and 27 a plurality of times is a flexible connection 29 which extends down through an opening in the corresponding end of the platform 26 and extends to and is wound upon the correwill be obvious now that when power is applied to one of the power shafts 23, the shafts will be rotated and thus through the flexible connections 27 and the pulleys heretofore described will raise or lower the platform 26.

In order to support the platform 26 at around the pulleys any desired height without the exertion of muscular force, I provide in connection with one of the sprocket wheels, as for instance the sprocket wheel adjacent the friction wheel 24, a pawl 30 which engages with the sprockets on. pawl being thrown into or out of operative position by means of a lever .31 pivoted upon the side of the frame and connected by a link 32 with the pawl. I also provide a brake coaoting with the friction brake wheel 24 comprising a brake block 33 supported upon a pivoted handle 34, as illustrated in Fig. 1. When this brake block is thiown over it will frictionally engage ,with

' has sufficient power a the necessity of reversely rotating the -21 by means .will be supported the friction wheel 24' and will impede the downward movement of the platform. In ac tual practice it has been found that this brake to permit the platform a cask without shaft of the handle 23 and at the same time without danger of the elevator platform coming down too rapidly.

For the purpose of holding the platform 26 at its highest position, that is the'position shown in Fig. 1, 1 hinge or pivotally mount upon the cross beams 15 the laterally disposed latches 35, these latches being disposed at opposite ends of the frame. Each of these latches is urged into the path of movement of the platform, as illustrated in Fig. 4, by means of a spring 36, the springs yielding, however, to permit the latform to move upward past the latches. hen the platform .has reached its highest position the springs 36 will cause the latches to lower under the weight of 35 to spring inward beneath the platform,

as illustrated in Fig. 4. Thus the platform in its highest position. For the purpose of detaching these latches from their engagement with the platform, I provide the construction illustrated best in Fig. 3. On the under side of the platform I mount the sliding bars 37 which are disposed in alinement with the latches 35. These bars are slidingly mounted in guides 38 and are drawn toward eachother and out of operative position by a spring 39. Mounted in connection with these sliding bars 37 are the bell cranks 40, one end of each bell crank being operatively-connected to the corresponding sliding bar 37 the the wheel 20, thisother ends of the bell cranks being con= nected to a pull'cord 41 by branch cords 42. This pull cord 41 passes through an eye 43, or other suitable support, and then extends laterally to any suitable point and s provided with a loop or other means, as illustrated in Fig. 1, so that this pull cord may be pulled to cause the bell cranks to shift the sliding bars 37 laterally outward. The ends of the sliding bars will engage with the loops and force these latches outward and as soon as the latches become disengaged .the elevator platform may descend, the springs then forcing the latches into their normal position.

The platform 26 is designed to be low ered into a position approximately level wfvith the longitudinal beams 11 and, thereore, of the warehouse. In order to provide for raising the barrels to the level of this platform when it is lowered, and rolling the barrels onto the platform, I provide the auxiliary platform 44, which is illustrated 1n Fig; 1. This platform comprises a pair of members spaced from each other and hinged at 45 to the frame of the machine and these hinged members are connected by transverse slats 46. of the members 44 are hinged the legs 47 these legs being preferably metal and connected by an integral web 48. Preferably the members 44 are tubular and are adapted to be engaged by the hooks 49 on the ends of the-skid 50. This skid 50 is ofany ordinary or usual construction and of course forms no part of my invention.

With this device it is an easy matter to roll the barrels onto the auxiliary platform and then roll the barrels from the auxiliary platform onto the elevator platform or roll the barrels from the elevator platform onto the auxiliary platform and so to the floor. When it is desired to shift the elevator from one position to another, the auxiliary platform may. be turned up to a' vertical position, Fig. 1 showing in dotted lines the auxiliary platform moving to this position.

It is of course desirable that when the elevator is used it shall rest solidly upon the floOr of the warehouse but it is equally desirable that itshall have wheels permitting it to be rolled to any desired location. I have, therefore, provlded a pair of wheels 51- mounted upon a common shaft 52, this shaft being supported by arms 53 hingedly or pivotally mounted upon atransversely extending bolt or rod 54. The length of each of the arms 53 is such that when the wheels are turned to the full line position shown in Fig. 1, the peripheries of the wheels will be below the lowest portion of the frame of the machine but that when the wheels are turned to the dotted line osition they will be above the lowest ends 0 the frame and the frame To the free ends will rest solidly on the floor. A spring 55 is operatively engaged with the transverse shaft 52 and urges the arms 53 to the full line position in Fig. 2, while a flexible connection 56 is attached to the shaft 52 and extends to one end of the elevator frame. When this flexible connection is pulled it .Will draw the wheel into the dotted line position and will hold the wheels in this position. When the connection 56 is released, however, and the elevator frame as a whole is lifted by the means tobe now described, the wheels 51 will be shifted to the full line position. For the purpose of lifting the elevator frame so as to permit the wheels 51 to shift from the dotted line to the full line position in Fig. 2, I provide upon one end of the elevator frame the outwardly projecting handle or handles 57 Assumin that the supporting wheels 51 are in the otted line osition, then the elevator frame will rest solidly upon the floor. If now the handles 57 be elevated the frame will be tipped up upon the rear cross bar 12 as upon a fulcrum and as soon asthe frame has been sufiiciently elevated the sprin 55 will act to draw the wheels over to the full line position. When the wheels have shifted to this position the shaft 52 will bear against bearing blocks 58. at-

these circumstances the elevator may be, readily pushed over the floor and rolled to any position. a

he elevator construction which I have now described is of such compact form that it may be readily rolled .upon ordinary freight elevators, readily shifted between the racks of casks, and is easily handled. The construction permits barrels or casks to be racked, as illustrated in Fig. 1, and permits the barrel or cask to be elevated to any desired height and readily rolled ofl onto the rick 01' rack. It also permits the barrel to be moved from a rack onto the elevator plat-. form and this 0 oration is'rendered particu larly easy by t e fact that there is no obstruction between the ends of the elevator which will prevent the operator from leaning over with his body partly through the elevator frame and with his hands drawing the barrel onto the platform.

While I have illustrated an embodiment of my invention which I have found extremely effective in practice, I wish it under stood that many changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim is: i

1. A portable elevator of the character (1 scribed including a supporting frame having vertical standards; a platform vertically movable between said standards, means supported on the frame for vertically shifting said platform, means for supporting said tached to the longitudinal beams 11. Under platform in a raised position comprising a pair of pivoted latches vertically disposed upon the frame, springs urging said latches inward into the path of movement of the platform, manually operable means for forcmg said latches out of said path of movement, said means comprising a pair of bars slidingly, mounted upon the under side of the platform in alinement with the latches, a spring urging said bars toward each other and out of pro ected position, and means for projecting the bars into engagement with the latches comprising a pair of bell crank levers one for each bar and a pull cord operatively connected to the bell crank levers to cause their simultaneous actuation. 2. In a portable elevator, a supporting frame, a vertically movable I platform, a wheel mounted between the ends of the frame and beneath the platform and mounted for movement from an operative to an inoperative position and held from movement into either of said positions by contact with the floor, means for shifting the wheel from its operative to its inoperative position andvice Versa, and means whereby the frame may be tilted to space the lower end of the frame from the floor and allow a movement of said supporting wheel.

3. In a portable elevator, a sup orting frame, a vertically movable plat orm, a wheelmounted between the ends of the a frame and on the bottom of the platform and mounted for swinging movement from an operative to an inoperative position and held from movement from an inoperative to an operative position by contact with,the floor, means normally urging the. wheel from its inoperative to its operative position, manually operable means for shifting the wheel from its operative to its inoperative position, and means whereby the frame ma be tilted to space the lower end thereof rom I fioor and allow a movement of the suptact with the floor, means urging the wheels to an operative position, manually operable means for shifting the wheels from. an operative to an inoperative position and means whereby the frame may be tilted to space its lower end from the floor and thereby permit a movement of the wheels.

5. In a portable elevator, a supporting frame, a vertically movable platform, arms plane to carry the wheels from an operative I to an 1noperat1ve position and vice versa,

a bearing block mounted upon the under side of said frame with which said shaft is operated to engage when the shaft and wheels are in an operative position, means for shifting the arms to shift'the wheels,

the arms being held in an inoperative posiv tion by the contact of the wheels with the .fioor, and means for tilting 'the-frameto space the lower end of it. from the floor to thereby permit the shifting of the arms and wheels. I

I having standards and cross braces, a platform vertically movable between said standards, manually operable means for shifting the platform vertically, a :pair of arms hinged to said cross braces for rotative movement in a vertical plane, a pair of- Wheels mounted upon said arms and shiftable therewith, bearing blocks supported upon the cross braces'and with which the wheels are adapted to be placed in operative engaglement, said bearing blocks supporting t e wheels in a position below the lower end of the frame, a spring urgin the arms and wheels into this last name position,

. and manually operable means for shifting said arms and wheels out of such position and into a position where the wheels are above the lower end of the frame.

7. A portable elevator including a frame having standards and cross braces, a plat- .form vertically movable between said standards, manually operable means for shifting the platform verticall a .pair of arms hinged to said" cross races for rotative movementin a' vertical plane,v a air of wheels mounted upon said. arms an able therewith, bearing blocks supported shiftupon the cross braces and'with which the 7 wheels are adapted tobe placed in operative engagement, said bearing blocks s11 porting the wheels in a position below t e lower a v .7 end of the frame, a spring urgin the arms 6. A portable elevator including a frame and wheels into this last nam tion.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my position, manually operable means for shifting said arms and wheels out of such osition and;

into a position where the whee s are above p v projecting from the frame'whereby it may-Q from an inoperative to an operative posii signature in the presenceof two witnesses; 1

. sr'nious RALVEY.

" Witnesses: 1

WALLACE THoMPsoN,

-MYRTLE Timur-son] 

